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Chapter 6: The Apprentice

Harry and Hagrid's arrival in Albania could have started out better. Upon arriving, Harry landed in a small lake, right in the middle of it. The morning was cold, so Harry had to dry himself off and warm up using his magic which left him dizzy from so much magic being used. The two continued on, each talking about each one's interpretation of spells and the like. Hagrid was, surprisingly, very informed, Harry thought. Apparently, the pink umbrella wasn't the only thing related to magic he hid, apart from his 'pets.'

At about midday however, everything went to hell for Harry. Hagrid got a Patronus message from Madame Maxime. Apparently, she discovered another giant tribe or two on the main land of the north, just around Lithuania and Estonia. She also reported that she has seen a group of Death Eaters ready to meet with one of the tribes. She wanted to go meet with the other, which looked more sympathetic to their cause, and that they would be too late to meet with the other one. Since the Patronus went inside of him, he knew the coordinates of where to go. He gave Harry a sad good bye and wished him luck, but he said this was bigger than his quest (if he only knew the truth), and apparated away.

Harry was sad at the departure. Hedwig floated down on to his knee and let him stroke her. It seemed therapeutic to him, and she wasn't going to complain of the attention given to her. Harry realized it was for the best after all. Hagrid stuck out like a sore thumb. Harry and Hedwig continued on through the mostly barren land. There was green grass about, but it had sparse tree cover and Harry had yet to see some sort of dwelling on the way. Walking along, Harry remembered that this country was in some sort of war in the southern part. He just hoped that he wouldn't have to go trudging about in the thick of it all.

Dusk was beginning to fall and Harry decided to make camp in the most cover he could find, which were three trees in an almost perfect triangle. He woke up Hedwig so that she could go hunt and keep watch over the camp while Harry slept. His dinner wasn't as good as he would have wished it was. It was a piece of dried meat on a stick, over a blue fire so that it was warm when he ate it. He didn't have any plates or utensils, so he just ate it by ripping it with his fingers or teeth if it came to it.

The next morning was just about as bad as the previous night had been. He slept wrong, so most of his body ached, and the temperature dropped drastically during the night so now it felt like he had a cold too. Not to mention, it was about the fourth day in a row that he hadn't bathed or washed anything for that matter. Just about the only thing going for him was that his magic was almost where it should be after apparating the great distance of England to eastern Europe and would most likely be at full strength in only a couple of hours. Still, he had no where to apparate to, so had to reserve himself for searching for the little village Bertha Jorkins went to before her disappearance.

Harry winced as he traveled along a badly built dirt road as Hedwig was digging her talons in on his unsteady shoulder as she took her turn to nap. Harry, it seemed had been walking for what seemed to be the whole day. He saw the same scenery over and over again, so it never felt like he was going anywhere. In reality though, it was just after noon when he seen a small village on the horizon. He finally arrived after another thirty minutes on an overcast type day that seemed to reflect his mood perfectly. It looked like the village followed the same road that he had been following, buildings on each side, for about a block before it ended.

Harry woke up Hedwig and told her to wait for him at the end of the village by a tree or something. She gave a tired hoot of agreement before she took off and Harry entered the pub. Outside of the pub, the occasional villager saw a very average teenager with a beautiful white owl on his shoulder. He had messy, black hair and glasses. On the inside of the pub, a man in his early twenties with thick, spiky, white hair entered. His eyes were the color of ice. He was striking and intimidating. In general, some one not to talk to unless he approached you.

Harry's cloak was Transfigured into a muggle equivalent, a black trench coat. He was still uncertain what type of village this was, being muggle or magical. Either way, Harry didn't want to be recognized. Harry ordered a whiskey and sat down in the corner surveying the pub. It was simple, and didn't look very modern. It appeared to have come out of medieval times, suggesting that it was a magical village. However, none of the patrons wore any clothing suggesting that they were magical. The five people inside, besides Harry and the barkeep appeared to be simple farmers, taking a break from their grueling day.

After sipping on his second whiskey, some action finally entered the bar. Three men entered, each looking grimier and more heinous than the one before him. Harry didn't recognize any, but he did recognize their cloaks. Their black cloaks with a dark gray skull embroidered on the left shoulder. Luckily for Harry, they took the booth next to Harry's. One looked around checking for eavesdroppers, but didn't think there were anyone to take notice of. Still, that didn't stop them from casting a Silencing Charm around their area. That didn't stop Harry from uncoiling an orange piece of string like substance that wound it's way into there area almost as if it possessed snake like qualities.

"... I tell ya, I think the Dark Lord has lost his marbles," brute one said in a fearful voice.

"It's not yer place ter decide if the Dark Lord's doings make sense ter an imbecile such as yerself," replied the older, most evil looking one of the lot.

"But guarding some house in the middle of a forest?" brute one asked, "Not to mention all those snakes! It's unnatural I tell ya!"

"The Dark Lord gave us these orders himself, and I'll be damned if I am ter entertain these thoughts of yer's. Now, yeh quite yerself about the goings on of our duties!" the old one replied. "We're not even supposed ter be here! Yer bellyachin' will get all three of us in ter trouble with the Dark Lord if he was ever ter find out. If he does, yeh had better hoped that he kills me first 'cause I'll skin yer carcass while keepin' yeh alive so as you can watch yer gut's spill on the floor!"

"But, you wanted a drink as much as I did. Besides, you don't even know what we're supposed to be guarding. We can't even go into that dump to doze for a bit. I'm just telling ya, it's a bit queer for us to be guarding a dumpy old shack." Brute one argued back. The old man just sputtered at his insinuations that as captain of the group that he didn't even know what was going on.

"I'm just glad there aren't too many filthy muggles running about. I don't know if I could restrain myself if there was." The third finally said to appease the other two, which side tracked them enough start comparing their favorite torture methods to use on their victims.

Harry rolled up the Extendable Ears and put it back into his pocket. He now knew that he was close. However, he didn't know where to go from there. He decided to finish his whiskey and go make plans for getting to where the forest, and the shack was at. Harry got up and left, but not before giving each of the three men a good look. The captain was really old, and appeared to be short. He had wrinkles beyond wrinkles, and a great big hooked nose. His hair was dark and greasy, almost like Snape's, except that there was a fair amount of gray hair mixed in. The second guy was big and beefy. He looked a lot like he would be Crabbe or Goyle's older cousin, except he seemed a lot more smarter. The third guy looked like an average man. He had brown hair, average height, average weight, and brown eyes. All had sinister intentions lurking in their minds.

Harry finally reached the end of town where Hedwig was waiting for him. He still had his disguise up, so Hedwig didn't recognize him until he called for her. She gave him a nip on the ear and gave a hoot to draw his attention to his back. There appeared to be a girl of about his age standing behind him. She was of average height, had brown hair and was mousy looking. It was not in a bad way, like Peter Pettigrew looking like a rat, she just looked meek at the moment and obviously was very good at following people as Harry didn't even notice her. Harry kept his guard up though, he could feel the magic in her and didn't know if she was a Death Eater or sympathizer.

"Hello?" Harry asked with a not so inviting tone.

"You are wizard, no?" she asked. She spoke very good English, but still had a heavy accent. It was still not as bad as Viktor Krum's, whose "W's" were pronounced as if they were "V's."

"What would make you say that?" Harry asked as his hand inched towards his wand.

"I... could feel your magic, yes?" She explained, hoping not to sound crazy.

"Right, and what's your point?" Harry asked. Relief flooded her features as she had guessed right.

"My name is Alexia. I would like for you to train me." she explained. Harry was at a loss. He didn't really know how to respond. It was a bit strange for some strange girl to ask a stranger for training. She didn't even know the type of person Harry was, let alone Harry not knowing her type.

"Why don't you go to school?" Harry asked.

"It is long story, would you like to come to my home? I will make you dinner and let you take a bath." she said in a hopeful tone.

Harry thought about it, it did sound appealing. He was still cautious of her, but through Legilimency, he could sense that she was truthful. Unless she was a superb Occulmens.

She led Harry out of the town and over some hills. On the way, they passed by the first forest since Harry arrived in Albania. This was where he assumed that the shack lie. He however couldn't go there now as he didn't know what type traps the three men left. He also didn't want to trip them or remove them. He didn't want to alert them at all that anyone but them had been there. He would have to go investigate later when it was more suitable and he had less company.

They finally arrived at a small house, if it could be called that at all. It was four walls covered by a thatch roof. If he thought that the village tavern looked like it was from the middle ages, this house looked to be from the dark ages. The floor was packed dirt and dusty with almost no humidity in the region. There was a big trunk in the middle of the room, for that was all the house was, that acted like a table as well.

She began making dinner, as Harry took Hedwig outside and told her to investigate the forest without being seen. She looked affronted that she would do no less, and took off. Harry entered the home again with a different perception. Though it lacked all of the luxuries he was used to, it gave off a cozy and welcoming feeling. He felt like he was at the Burrow again!

Alexia finished preparing his meal, and insisted not to talk until they were both done. It was one of the greatest meals Harry had had in a long time. It was a pork stew with different kinds of vegetables in it. It tasted like heaven to Harry. They both finished, and Alexia put the dishes away and Harry got the conversation underway.

"So, why aren't you in school?"

"I don't have enough to go to Durmstrang, like everyone else in the village. Even though I would only go there as a last resort," she added.

"Doesn't the school have a program to help poor children go?" Harry asked. He didn't know much about Durmstrang policies, but assumed Hogwarts did, especially since the Weasley's were able to put seven children through school.

She scoffed and said, "Sir, in this part of the world, the poor are looked down upon. Our society is made so that the rich get richer and the poor get poorer," she said.

Harry couldn't believe that things like this existed in the world. It sounded a lot like the end of the Dark Ages with serfs and such. He was however, cut off from his thoughts as she continued to talk.

"I would have liked to go to Hogwarts, but I do not have any money to travel far enough to get there. Beauxbatons would be acceptable, but once I saved enough money to go there, I was already seventeen, and couldn't enter their program," she finished, looking crestfallen.

Harry pitied the poor girl. From the story thus, Harry assumed that she was at least seventeen, around a year older than him. He was surprised though, that she never mentioned her parents and their attempt to help her. Harry asked about them, and she just got sadder.

"Mama died when I was a child, Papa died five years ago, when I was thirteen and I have taken care of our ancestral home ever since." Harry didn't think it was much of a home at all, much less an ancestral home, but he would never criticize someone's home in said home aloud. It was bad luck to do otherwise.

Harry still had his disguise up, and didn't want to reveal who he was until he had to. He wasn't sure if she had heard about him, and if she hadn't, he didn't want the other village folk to know he was here, especially with three Death Eaters around.

"I'm Felix, by the way," Harry said. He could only explain today, after looking back, like the time he drank some of his lucky potion he won.

"Nice to meet you Felix," Alexia said, "so will you teach me magic?" she asked with a puppy dog look on her face. Harry thought that she looked cute, like a rabbit or something, but he wasn't sure. He didn't know if he would have the time or patience to teach someone with his challenges he was just taking on.

"I would really like to teach you some magic," Harry said as Alexia's face shone with hope, "but" here it dropped, "I can't hang around here. I have very important things to do. Maybe when I finish, I can come back to help you."

She looked sad, but was also thinking hard. Suddenly, she jumped up and went to her trunk, in it she pulled out an ancient looking book. She handed it to Harry with a puppy dog look in her eyes. The title read From Apprentice to Master, How to Succeed in the Magical World. Harry pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration. He felt bad for the girl, but he didn't know what more he could do for her.

"Please, consider it and read it," she pleaded, "you can decide if you want to in the morning. For now, just sleep and we'll talk again in the morning."

Harry wasn't going to begrudge her that. He buckled and agreed and she jumped up and squealed like a normal teenage girl, and not like the middle age woman that was behind her eyes. She set about to making Harry a bed by the fire as she went to her own afterwards behind a curtain, creating a bedroom.

Harry slept peacefully until the next morning when some tapping on a window awoke him. Hedwig was outside, wanting to be let in. Harry opened the door and let her in, as she roosted on the back of one of the chairs and tucked her head under her wing for a good nap.

Harry stretched and walked around to wake himself up. He realized through the night, his disguise fell, so he pulled it back up. He grabbed the book from the night before, and began to read through it. He learned that the apprentice was like the master's child. The master was responsible for all of the apprentice's actions and education. The apprentice had to fulfill all of the master's requests that they were given and learn what the master set about for them. There was no bonding ceremony or anything of the like, just consent of the master and the apprentice, or in some cases the apprentice's parents.

Alexia stirred and woke about an hour after Harry. She looked like someone had slapped her across the face when she realized that her guest was up before her and had no service. She busily got up and began making breakfast. It was a simple affair, but very filling.

Harry wiped his mouth, and asked Alexia while she was washing up why she wanted to learn magic. Harry expected something like, 'because I have the right to,' which she did, or 'so I can become more powerful.' So, when she said, "To come back here and teach the village children about magic, so that they may one day rise and become powerful to put in place a just government," Harry was surprised.

"I guess then, I have no choice," he said as she began to get teary eyed, "I must accept you as my apprentice." She jumped for joy and got on her knees and hugged Harry around his midsection, much to the surprise of Harry. He patted her on the head and wished for the weird behavior to stop.

After they got more comfortable around each other, Harry began explaining a lot of the theories and easy stuff that she should learn first, or the way Harry believed. She would definitely be lacking in some areas, but he could always come back later and address them when needed or she could and learn about it when she had the time to do it herself. He mainly got her to learn about the theories that would teach her to apparate and other tricks that didn't need a wand. He told her after he finished his business, they would find wand materials suitable for her. Around dusk, Hedwig began to stir and Harry left Alexia to her studies and he gave Hedwig a good rub and began to talk to her. She hooted and cooed with the attention.

"Hedwig, I need you to think hard about last night. Okay, think hard," and he saw her get a determined look on her owl face. He put his wand up to her temple and pulled a thin silvery strand from it and put it in a bottle. She shook her head afterwards and looked a little dazed. Harry told Alexia to re-read her notes, which she complied. Harry went behind her curtain and pulled a little silver tub out of his satchel. He sat on her bed, and enlarged the Pensieve and poured Hedwig's memory into the basin. He bent down and as soon as his nose touched the surface, he entered her memory.

Everything was a little hazy, but still seemed pretty clear. For the fact that it was dark, the forest seemed clear as day owing to Hedwig's eye sight. The forest was about five acres large. Harry wasn't sure how Voldemort found this small forest, but sixteen years ago, most of this land could have been all covered in forest.

The memory suddenly dived down and swooped in and out of the trees. It was thick, but Harry saw a few paths that looked traveled. The Death Eaters didn't lie either when they said there were snakes everywhere. Where Harry figured the heart of the forest was, was a small shack. It looked like Alexia's house, but much more evil looking. The vision went back up again and stilled, where Harry assumed Hedwig sat on top of a tree. From here, Harry could see the three figures patrolling the wood. Harry pulled out after this.

He shrank the Pensieve again and put it in his satchel. Alexia was still studying as hard as Harry left her. He grabbed his cloak and told Alexia that he would be out for a few hours. He motioned for Hedwig to follow him and they headed for the forest. Once there, they studied the patrol routes of the Death Eaters. They were simple, and not very surprising and most of the time didn't explore more of the forest. Harry was glad that they didn't look up or otherwise they would have seen him on his Firebolt. He knew they would be easy to get past. It was all of the snakes that were no doubt under Voldemort's control that posed a problem for Harry. For his plan, he needed complete secrecy. If Voldemort suspected that he knew about the Horcruxes, he would no doubt bring them back under his possession. No, he had to make sure that secrecy was ensured at all costs.

For three days, Harry taught Alexia and observed the forest with Hedwig. He racked his brains trying to think of a solution. Finally, when he told Alexia somewhat of what was bothering him, she just told him to send his owl after the snakes. It was a surprising plan, but would provide the distraction that he needed.

On the fourth night, Harry took Hedwig out to their normal patrol route and Transfigured her into a normal brown barn owl, since she was quite recognizable. Next, he waved his wand and there were three more of the exact same owl on each side of her. Hedwig wasn't too pleased with her mediocre appearance, but Harry explained it was for her own safety. He told her to charge into the cabin first clearing out all the snakes in there, then to lead the other six on a clearing out of the forest. She nodded, and took off.

Harry watched as she caused quite a storm in the little cabin. The three Death Eaters looked as if they were about to wet themselves with the sudden excitement. Killing Curses were going every which way, though none were close to their marks and more likely than not causing a tree to explode in the process.

Harry quickly went to the shack and entered. The inside was plain. There was a chair, a table, and a fire hearth. He searched quickly for anything that would tip him off to what could be the Horcrux. Stomping across the floor on the third time around, he heard a hollow sound in the middle of the floor. He found a trap door covered in years worth of dust. He quickly scanned it for any traps, which surprisingly there were none.

He opened it and only found an ancient looking broom. Harry looked around for more things with his lit wand, but there was nothing else. Sighing in frustration, he went to leave, but the light just caught an engraving on the broom handle. There at the tip was a small eagle carved into it. Harry's face lit with a grin. He scanned it for traps, and found an enormous amount of obscure Dark magic all over it, along with a few ordinary enchantments. Instead of taking any risks and trying to solve the riddles then, he just Levitated it and flew out with trailing behind just as fifty snakes crawled underneath him, just missing Harry.

He went back to Alexia's and found her asleep at the table, with a few pieces of parchment stuck to her face from napping. He carried Ravenclaw's broom out to the back and set it down. He then went back inside and carried Alexia to her bed and Harry prepared himself for a good night's sleep as well. While bedding down, Harry realized he was one step closer to winning the war, and for some reason, thoughts of Ginny entered his head as he went to sleep in a good mood for the first time since Dumbledore's death.

AN: Not much to say except: Get to know your Author! (This will most likely be the end of the pet peeves for awhile).

Pet Peeves: Uber -long chapters

I like a nice long chapter as much as the next guy, but some people get carried away with their word length. I myself shot for some where between 2-3000 words a chapter, while trying not to exceed 5000. I do this because it seems once I'm half way through a 10,000 word long chapter, half way through the chapter, I'm just thinking, 'Get on with it, already.' Sure, a long chapter is good, but when you have to illustrate the position of every object in a room and go almost as far as describing an inanimate objects feelings, well, you need to think about loosening up a bit.